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Friends of Hospice Serenity House celebrated the grand opening of their new Judy McGuffin Memorial Wing with a ribbon cutting on Monday afternoon.

The new wing is dedicated to Judy McGuffin who served on the board of Serenity House and had a strong passion for hospice care. McGuffin’s husband, George, was present for the ribbon cutting and expressed his gratitude. “Judy would have been so proud. You have to know from whence it came to really appreciate this, this new wing is beautiful and is a big step up. Judy served on the board for years and was a strong advocate of this program, our family is honored to have our name on it.“ McGuffin said.

George McGuffin and Wild Family Contractors were primary financers of the wing. The memorial wing boasts two new rooms which has allowed the Serenity House to accommodate two more patients. Executive Director Stephanie Hamill spoke on the new wing and what all it provides for the new facility, she also expressed her gratitude for everyone involved in making it happen.

“Thank you all so much, we have come such a long way from our roots when we started 10 years ago at the Morristown Housing Authority with the help of Marilyn Medley. We started with our tiny two-bedroom home, but just look at where we are today. God has blessed us so much,” Hamill said.

Hamill then went on to express her thanks for those who were instrumental in the process, “We have so many people to thank, but most significantly of course we want to thank George McGuffin and his family for supporting us. George, you’ve given us an incredible gift for allowing us to go from three patients to five patients so that we can hopefully not have to turn so many people away during their greatest time of need. The wing is so beautiful and I want to say a special thank you to Tim and David Wild who have been right behind this project helping to make sure everything gets done and also helping out financially. This has been no small feat, we’ve had so many donors,” Hamill said.

The new wing comes equipped with all new hospital beds and furnishings thanks to the many generous donors involved. The former Rotary of Morristown Morning Club purchased two hospital beds, Morristown Hamblen Healthcare System purchased one bed, MMHS Volunteers purchased one bed, and First Horizon Foundation donated money for the purchase of one bed.

Furnishings were donated by Jordan Taylor Furnishings and Pete Barile. Two armoires were also donated with the help of Bargain House in White Pine. One armoire was donated by Mike and Jennifer Kirk in memory of Lisa Kirk, and the other was donated by Sandy and Kyle Underwood and Marilyn and Jim Medley in memory of Joshua Medley.

The two new rooms each have their own theme and are dedicated to honor the loved ones of those connected to Serenity House. The Rocky Top room is UT themed and is dedicated to Tim and David Wild’s mother, Louise Wild. The Seaside Room is ocean themed and is in memory of Marilyn Medley’s mother, Daisy Underwood.

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